'I've got to be better': Garrett's early-inning struggles continue

NEW YORK -- A year ago, Marlins left-hander Braxton Garrett evolved into the club’s most dependable starter to the surprise of many. It’s not a slight on him, but rather an understandable sentiment considering the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner was on the staff and Garrett had begun the 2023 season in the bullpen.

With Garrett on the mound, chances were the Marlins would win. Miami went 21-9 in his starts in ‘23 and carried it over into ‘24 by securing victories in his first four starts.

Yet, after a right shoulder impingement delayed his season, Garrett is still trying to find his footing. He was chased in the fifth inning of Wednesday night’s 10-4 loss to the Mets at Citi Field a week after the shortest start of his career (2 2/3 frames).

“To be honest, I have no clue what my line is right now,” said Garrett, who gave up six runs (four earned) on seven hits to go with four strikeouts. “I haven't even looked. I feel crappy about it either way. I feel like I let the guys down.

“I just keep putting us in a hole early. I've got to be better.”

Garrett entered Wednesday having surrendered just two homers in his first 26 1/3 innings this season. He permitted two to New York: a two-run tater to Harrison Bader that ballooned his first-inning ERA to 15.00 and a solo shot to the final batter he faced -- Starling Marte -- with two outs in the fifth.

Those were two of the 10 hard-hit balls (95-plus mph exit velocity) against Garrett on the night. He had allowed an average exit velocity of 92.9 mph, second worst among Major League qualifiers, behind only Giants righty Keaton Winn (93.3 mph).

“I had some trouble seeing stuff, honestly,” Bader said. “He has good stuff, especially when he locates it. But again, it’s just staying in the pocket and being ready for that pitch that catches more the heart of the plate. It's a separator with guys who locate extremely well. He got me on all those at-bats. It's a testament to the stuff he does have.

“He is a good pitcher. He mixes very well with multiple pitches. When he lives on the edges, he is obviously tough to hit. As with any pitcher, if [the pitch] shows up middle, it's our job to put a good short swing on it and do damage. I tried to do that. It worked out tonight for us.”

Not helping matters was the shaky defense behind Garrett.

Right-hander Huascar Brazoban began warming up during Garrett’s 34-pitch, three-run second inning when third baseman Emmanuel Rivera and second baseman Otto Lopez committed fielding errors. The latter scored a run.

Since Garrett is by no means a strikeout artist, solid infield play is crucial. His K/9 rate during his breakout 2023 was 8.8. It was 8.2 entering his latest start. His ground-ball rate has gone up from 49.1 to 56.3 percent.

“We didn't play clean defense behind Braxton, who pitches to contact,” manager Skip Schumaker said. “He was on the ground. He pitched better than I think his line probably shows. A couple potential double-play balls to get out of that big inning. Ran the pitch count up because of it.

“So just overall [a] tough day defensively for our team.”

Defense aside, Garrett has yet to regain his 2023 form (126 ERA+). He has completed more than five innings just twice in six starts. Since his shutout of the D-backs on May 24 in Arizona, he has a 7.30 ERA in three starts.

“I don't think I've been very good,” Garrett said. "Again, just early [in games] I've been bad. I have to get through the first [inning] and go from there. I don't know five or six starts that I've had, all but one like you said, I've just put us in a hole, and it's hard to come back every single time from that.”

So what’s up? Could it have anything to do with not having a proper Spring Training due to the injury? Might lineups be game planning better?

“To me it feels like I haven't got in enough on righties and I haven't thrown enough four-seams,” Garrett said. “Because my sinker has been so good my whole career, sometimes I fall in love with it when my four-seam is actually pretty good, too. So that's kind of the adjustment we made today after it kind of got going a little bit better.

“I'm just way too comfortable of an at-bat right now.”